FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[frank uible]

Those defensive stats were earned without Colby's playing Williams, the most statistically potent 2006 offensive team in the conference.

[Pallos]

   Frank, how do the Ephs look to stack up vs the Lord Jeffs this season? Good to see that we've already edged them once again for the top spot in the USNWR rankings! 

[frank uible]

Tell you on the second Sunday in November. Incidentally in my view all that USNWR stuff is overrated and certainly is irrelevant to this board.

[AUPepBand]

Pep and Alfred University President Charley Edmondson would agree:

Rankings should play a limited role, said Edmondson,in students' choice of schools. "None of the prominent ranking services, including that of U. S. News, include any assessment of students' experiences either in the classroom or cocurricular life. Those are areas where colleges and universities like Alfred University are particularly strong," said Edmondson.

He was quoted in a news release announcing AU being listed the #1 "Great School at a Great Price" in the North:

http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?&ID=4107

Gosh, since Pep agrees that this is irrelevant to this board, why the heck is Pep posting this? 

[Pallos]

   Well. I'm not sure whether USNWR is overrated or not, but I think it's a little naive to say it's irrelevant to recruiting, and hence this website. I'll agree that the rankings seem far from a comprehensive and thorough measure of a school-- but the buzz the rankings create, for better or worse, can't be overestimated. )

   Anyway, some NESCAC football coaches think recruiting is an important part of building/maintaining a program. Williams as an institution has ostensibly been dismissive of the rankings; in the meantime, its coaches mention the rankings liberally in talks with recruits-- and who can blame them.

[frank uible]

Not infrequently I disagree with various coaches on a variety of subjects. Self aggrandizement is not a style which I favor, being comprised of nothing more than hot air.

[Pallos]

Good point, Frank and while I couldn't agree more that self-aggrandizement on the part of coaches is abhorrent, I do think any self-aggrandizement on the part of Williams athletic coaches concerning USNWR rankings would  be grossly misplaced since those rankings have little or nothing to do with athletics... and certainly next to nothing to do with individual coaches accomplishments. In other words, what the hell did they have to do with roping in that distinction? Not that much. Now, if  Williams coaches start boasting about the college winning the Directors' Cup ( or whatever they call it these days ) consistently, I might consider that to be --marginally -- engaging in self-aggrandizement. That aside, I think the worst thing one could condemn Williams coaches crowing about USNWR rankings for would be a profound  sense of pride in their college's achievement: a different matter altogether, wouldn't you agree?

As noted recently here, NESCAC schools don't land a lot of recruits outside of the NE for whatever reasons ( NCAA limits, resources, a lack of name recognition outside of the NE ).  Because of this, I do think that widely-publicized distinctions such as USNWR  and, to a lesser extent,  Directors Cup rankings serve as excellent name recognition/ recruiting tools for the coaches of many schools in our league looking to gain exposure for their programs outside of the NE.

[Trin9-0]

I posted this link a few weeks back, it seems relevant to this discussion:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a13FvMT0iTNo&refer=us

The gist of the article:

"Sixty-one small American colleges have mounted the biggest protest yet against U.S. News & World Report magazine's annual rankings of higher education."

Trinity & Lafayette (tied for 30th) in the USN&WR rankings are the highest ranked schools whose presidents have endorsed the letter of petition. It also states that though Williams (ranked #1) has not yet signed the protest, they have agreed to stop mentioning the USN&WR results in their sports information and admissions brochures.

In the 2008 U.S. N&WR rankings Trinity is again tied with Lafayette but dropped to 34th.

[frank uible]

Either a college is good in a certain respect, or it's not. Awards, opinions and other recognitions will not change that condition. Additionally it is much preferable (and more credible) that one's virtues be discovered from outside sources than from one's own breast beating. As far as I'm concerned, one is either rock solid, substancial or full of hot air.  I vote for rock solid, substantial. Believe me - rock solid, substantial prevails on the playing field.

[pleasedontflex]

PCU is a great movie, but to expect that Wes U is really like it is the same thing -- as mentioned above -- as saying Dartmouth is just like Animal House.

I'm fully confident that the football team is capable of having a great time there, despite the fact that there are more and more vocal "protester-types" that attend Wes U than most other colleges.  They offer nothing if not comedic value.

I'd guess that the number of PETA-types probably roughly equals the number of trust-fund babies at Trinity or Williams who pop their collars up.  Sure, they are often the cause of some annoyance to the "regular students", but perhaps their numbers and effect on campuses are overstated.

Hahaha that was won of the funniest messages I have ever read on this discussion board to date...

[BTEXPRESS]

Does anyone know the official date when teams in the NESCAC report to camp? I know just about all the other Division III teams have been in camp for a week or two.

[Trin9-0]

Does anyone know the official date when teams in the NESCAC report to camp? I know just about all the other Division III teams have been in camp for a week or two.

First day of camp is Monday August 27th.

[BTEXPRESS]

Trin THANKS!!!!!

[BTEXPRESS]

I debated on ordering the 2007 D3 kickoff, I then thought this would be a way to give back to the site with all their hard work and ordered it. Let me say, if you have not taken the time to order it, please do it. It is well worth the $8.95. Very well done! If you are a fan of Division III football you will not be disappointed.

[Col. Partridge]

Recent Middlebury grad named NC State's starting kicker.